Ricardo Rincón Espinoza (born April 13, 1970) is a Mexican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Career

Rincón was a

left-handed specialist In baseball, a left-handed specialist (also known as lefty specialist) is a relief pitcher who throws left-handed and specializes in pitching to left-handed batters, weak right-handed batters, and switch-hitters who bat poorly right-handed. Bec ...

who spent nearly his entire career as a middle reliever and

setup pitcher In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

. In his 11-year career, Rincón never started a game and only accumulated 21 saves; he is generally credited with 109

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s. Rincón played for several teams in Mexico before being signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in , breaking into the major leagues at the relatively advanced age of 27. On November 18, 1998 he was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for outfielder

Brian Giles Brian Stephen Giles (; born January 20, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his career he played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. The left-handed Giles was a two-time All-Star and had a ...

. He later pitched for the Oakland Athletics and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Rincón played for his native Mexico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, appearing in four games. Shortly after the Classic and five games into his Cardinal career, Rincón experienced shoulder pain and later underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

. He also had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. He played in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

organization in . On January 25, , Rincón signed with the New York Mets. He was loaned to the Mexico City Red Devils for the 2008 season, and was returned on August 28 and assigned to Triple-A

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Rincón played for Mexico in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tie ...

and then for several teams in Mexico before retiring in 2012. Rincón was part of a combined no-hitter on July 12, 1997. After Francisco Córdova threw nine innings of no-hit ball, Rincón relieved him and pitched a scoreless 10th. Teammate Mark Smith then hit a three-run

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

in the bottom of the 10th to give Rincón the win. To date, it is the last no-hitter in Pirates histor

He throws a four-seam

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and two-seam fastball. He is currently married to his wife Jaqueline, they have two children, a daughter, Damaris, and a son, Ricardo, Jr. He is a subject of the 2003 book '' Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' and the 2011 film based on the book.

Notes

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Rincon, Ricardo 1970 births Living people Akron Aeros players Baseball players from Veracruz Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Carolina Mudcats players Cleveland Indians players Diablos Rojos del México players Fresno Grizzlies players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Petroleros de Minatitlán players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players St. Louis Cardinals players Sultanes de Monterrey players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players